We spent a day recently at the Levi’s Eureka Lab in San Francisco to profile the innovative new denim styling process delivered by their partnership with Jeanologia, a leader in eco-efficient solutions for fabric and garment finishing, particularly laser. This new process replaces the longtime recipe of hand sanding and chemical treatments. It was a pleasure to meet and photograph Bart Sights, the vice president of technical innovation at Eureka Lab.

Showcasing a few of our favorites spreads from the exquisitely designed and produced “That Book Spider Lake” commission. The project just won 2 awards at the 2018 British Book Design and Production Awards. Here’s what the judges had to say;

‘That Book’ created by Eszter & David and Hurtwood Press was the star of the evening, triumphing in Digitally Printed Books and also securing the prestigious title of Book of the Year. The judges were captivated by the attention to detail, and said it was “devoid of boundaries and designed with boundless imagination”.

It was a very complex undertaking that included a request for a cover that was “bound in water”. So there are metallic papers, color printing, die cutting, foil blocking, acetates, throw outs, postcards, fabrics, giclee prints amongst other things. The challenge was that with fabrics, acetates and special papers, our partners had to develop new and innovative binding techniques to bind the book together properly. Clearly that did not go unnoticed by the judges! We were thrilled, and so to our very happy clients. Thank you to all involved. Hurtwood Press, Billie Temple Design, Ludlow Bookbinders and Pureprint Group. @billetha @eszteranddavid @hurtwoodpress @bbdpawards

It didn’t take long after the call came in from Cannonball Agency in St Louis for eszteranddavid, to realize this project was going to be big one! Cut to the chase and we were in it hook line and sinker to the tune of 65 automobiles and 85 talent, many playing duel roles. The Enterprise project consisted of a solid month long pre production process for us, including location scouting, talent casting, scheduling, permitting, wardrobe fittings. etc, etc. Followed by an intense 10 day shoot and subsequent post production. Here’s a glimpse at some of the BTS.

As a family we have spent many a summer week camping in the High Sierra of California, at our secret little spot on the water, enjoying down time. I’ve always wanted it just to be “down time” and enjoy the moments with my girls, without a professional camera in my hand. This year it took a different turn when we asked our daughter Ivy if we could spend an afternoon making some pictures of her in her favorite outdoors spot. Brief was simple – just have fun being who you are – doing what you love. We’d follow her and make things up as we went along. So here’s a selection of what we all collectively created that afternoon last month. A day I’ll never forget! Thanks to my girl’s Eszter, Ivy and Stella.

I feel really privileged that we have been commissioned to photograph 3 x QT Hotel properties within the last 12 months. That good fortune continued recently when we ventured back to Queensland, Australia and the famed Surfers Paradise strip. The QT Gold Coast was our latest project we’ve collaborated on. “Nostalgic surfer chic meets Miami catwalk cool” reads the banner line introducing the hotel website. With that as a temptation, I was sure a good shoot would materialize. Here’s just a small sample of imagery we produced. View our website for more from the shoot. Check out their Instagram #qt_hotels#qtgoldcoast#qtlife

Again I had the opportunity to travel with great mate and creative collaborator Tom Hood, who just makes life and shooting so much easier, I am forever grateful to have him on board for these crazy hospitality shoots that run to no convention timing schedule. Thanks for your flexibility mate. BTS below.

Recently spent a great couple of days photographing and getting know the local brewing scene here in San Francisco with visits to Magnolia Brewing Company in Dogpatch district and Black Sands Brewery, located in the Haight. I’ll admit it can be quite distracting trying to work in such venues, when the beer is free flowing and tasting is such an integral part of the job. We knuckled down and kept control of ourselves until the photography ended. Then managed to play some catch up post shoot, sampling an array of amazing brews. First up was Black Sands Brewery, and owner and head brewer Cole Emde. What a generous, charming and handsome chap he turned out to be. Not too difficult to make a good picture there (see below)

Here’s a little sample of the shoot in action.

The killer brewers gear!

Next stop was Magnolia Brewing Company and it’s founder and brewmaster Dave McLean a doyen of the industry and one of the most generous men you may ever meet.

Spent some time recently on a assignment for April Six Agency out of San Francisco. They threw out the exciting prospect of heading to Toronto, Canada for a week to create a series of environmental portraits for Cogeco/ Peer 1, a managed cloud, hosting and IT services company servicing the globe. Of course we jumped at the opportunity before realizing that a blizzard was on course for Toronto and we’d be working through a snow storm!! Had a great couple of days with a great and collaborative crew. Below are some of the results including the massive banners and OOH executions currently running across the country.

Post shoot we had a little time down in Toronto and got to see a lot of what this amazing city had to offer. Look forward to getting back there soon.

Pleased to see imagery from our recent shoot at QT Museum Wellington, New Zealand finally making it’s way to the website and advertising for the re launch of the hotel.

We travelled to Wellington earlier this year on a commission to photograph the hotel under the new banner of QT Museum Wellington. This unique property now joining the portfolio of QT properties. Straight from their site it reads, ” Fall down the rabbit hole into an explosion of color and texture at Wellington’s new design-driven Hotel, QT Museum Wellington. Our walls host a curated collection of high & low brow art sitting in a stunning harbourside location & engulfed by vines and vivd ivy.”

“Your new Wellington creative hub is the epitome of cool luxury – high tech, sophisticated spaces & a paradise for foodies. Go beyond your boundaries as you are challenged by the scale of our art while experiencing the comfort of having the modern traveller needs at your fingertips.”

Art, design, curiosities and a dash of the absurd – QT Museum Wellington.

Travelled with great mate and collaborator Tom Hood, as always we managed to mix a heavy dose of photography work with some downtime exploring the Martinborough wine region, in the South Wairarapa outside of Wellington. Thanks for the detailed research of finding some superb Pinot Noir destination’s Tom, favorite and stand out for me was 2014 John Martin Pinot Noir. Travel snaps below.

I guess to me the best assignments are the one s that find us not only back home in Australia, but better still see me on assignment in my home town of Melbourne, Australia. Such was the case on my December jaunt, and assignment for the QT Hotel chain, one of my favorite clients of all time! There simply is no better client to work for than the Managing Director of Event Hospitality & Entertainment Limited, the enigmatic Mr David Seargeant, an industry legend and all around great guy. Very seldom are you given the brief of, “just do what you do – I know ‘ll love what I get”. Seems simple enough but the psychology that runs far deeper, Mr Seargeant always throws out the gauntlet to make each new shoot even better than the last, and therefore we always dig a little deeper. In this case it meant running a few 16 – 20 hours shifts to achieve what we were chasing. On assignment at a fully operational hotel running at 100% is always a mighty challenge but one that we revel in. Here’s just a glimpse of what we were able to achieve.

Thanks for the faith yet again David Seargeant and to all on premise at QT Melbourne for go the extra few yards with us. Look forward to continuing the fertile relationship.

The State Fair of Texas, headquartered in Dallas is a fascinating place to visit if you’ve never been there before. Even more interesting if you are lucky enough to meet Don and Sharon Endsley and spend several days making portraits of the characters who perform in their roving Great AmericaWild West Show. Don and Sharon have spent their life together performing and being involved in the Western lifestyle Before creating the Great American Wild West Show Don spent almost 30 years as one of the top Professional rodeo announcers in the Country. He was the “voice” of the last NFR held in Oklahoma City in 1984. In 2011 Don was inducted into the texts Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame in Ft Worth, where they lived for 25 years.

The spectacular arena shows are the trademark but the Great American Wild West Show has been featured in many versions for venues like the legendary Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas. Producing the Great American Wild West Show is a family operation with Don and Sharon writing the scripts, producing the music, designing lighting and special effects, booking show dates and always looking for new ways to make it more thrilling and exciting. It was an hilarious couple of days getting down and dirty at the Texas State Fair.

We had the opportunity to get behind the scenes and create a series of narrative portraits documenting many of the characters that make up the entourage. By far the standout for our crew was the amazingly talented Kyzer Stoddard, horseman extraordinaire – what a gift he has with animals and the camera just loves him. Thanks to these generous hosts and our amazing local crew. See you all again soon.

Thanks to these generous hosts and our amazing local crew. See you all again soon.